Written in the Stars
by starrysunsets
Summary: It's been burned into their hearts, sealed in their minds, and written in constellations across the galaxy. Love stories aren't new and theirs certainly has plenty of different beginnings and ends. Drabbles of everyone's favorite Benja and Bacca. [Merome.]
1. Turning Tables

**AN: Just as the summary says! I don't have a schedule on how often I'll update, but I'll try to do it often! Cheers!**

 _ **X**_

Mitchell Hughes lived a fairly simple life. He woke up, ate breakfast, had fun with friends, and killed people every day for money. Simple enough.

After a particularly exhausting day playing Hunger Games, all he wanted to do was rest. So Mitch took a warm bath, changed into his pajamas, and fell asleep quickly.

By the next morning, he didn't expect to wake up in a tree.

He certainly didn't expect to smell like parmesan.

And he _definitely_ didn't expect to have fur.

Mitch yawned and rolled out of bed, smacking his lips together as he stumbled to his door. "Sheesh, I should sleep more often–"

The figure in the mirror wasn't him. Dark, chocolate eyes stared back, fluffy fur sticking up everywhere. Axes were strung up on the wall and Mitch was wearing a black suit with a red tie.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD–"

Mitch racked his brain for an answer before he flipped and passed out. What could've caused this? There wasn't any magic nearby, no one had a grudge on him…

Oh.

The Soulmate Theory.

Mitch groaned and sat down hard, letting out a huge sigh. On a random occasion, the world would cause two soulmates to switch bodies and have them freak out before they found each other.

The boy got to his feet, glancing at the wall of axes. "Well, if I don't find my soulmate, I guess I'll just go play some games."

He grabbed a glowing blue axe and strapped it to his back, proceeding to walk out of the giant tree house and head off to the Battle Arena.

People didn't look at him strangely. Mitch was still really freaked out by not having his body back, so he set up a light jog and rushed to the Arena.

Someone slammed into him and knocked both of them to the ground. Mitch gasped and looked up, shocked to see the face of someone familiar.

"Adam?"

The Butter King looked terrified. "W-What? Who are you?! What's going on!?"

Mitch blinked before a huge smile spread across his face. (And well aware that his sharp teeth were showing.) "Ty, calm down. It's the Soulmate thing going on. Swapping bodies? Ring a bell?"

Adam–Ty, technically–let out a huge breath. "Oh. And I'm going to assume you're a friend of mine…not Seto, he already switched with Brice…so did Bashur and Bodil…you don't seem like Quentin or Ian…Mitch?"

"Hiya, Ty!"

Ty grinned. "This is kind of an off day for me. I had no clue who you were because I thought I saw you walking earlier; I called out trying to get your attention and you just jumped and ran away."

"That would be my soulmate." Mitch nodded. "Any idea?"

"Nope, but he's headed to the Arena." Ty nodded. "Have fun, and good luck!"

Mitch gave Ty a hug and rushed on over, frantically looking for a red and black checkered jacket. "C'mon, give me a clue here…" Mitch muttered, unsheathing the axe and staring at it.

 _Betty the Axe._

 _Property of Jerome Aceti._

A huge grin appeared on Mitch's face and he shouted, "JEROME! JEROME, C'MON BIGGUMS! WHERE YOU AT?"

The players around him gave Mitch weird glances, but he was determined to find Jerome.

There was a sound in the distance, like someone yelling…

Wait–

Could it be–?

"MITCH? MITCHELL HUGHES?"

"JEROME!" Mitch yelled, barreling his way through the crowd. A boy stared at him in shock, a red and black hoodie on top of his light gray t-shirt.

The golden dog tag gleamed brightly and Mitch's usual spiky brown hair was everywhere, and his light brown coffee eyes were wide.

The two couldn't look away. It was…weird, to say the least. It was like staring in a mirror but your soulmate was in your body and basically had a glimpse into your own life.

Suddenly, Jerome was moving towards Mitch and their bodies collided into a hug and Mitch found himself in tears. "Wow, I'm glad Ashley stiches my name on the tag of my hoodies. I'll have to thank her later." He giggled, burying his face into Jerome's shoulder.

"My friend Mat burns my name into my axes." Jerome laughed, grasping onto Mitch. "Wow, okay. It's really nice to meet you, Mitchell Hughes. It's great to know I've got a soulmate out there in the world and I'm literally holding you in my arms."

"It's nice to meet you too Jerome Aceti." Mitch mumbled, instead choosing to press a kiss to his cheek. "Never doing that again, it was like kissing myself in the mirror."

Jerome's laugh made Mitch smile. "Would you like to go on a date?"

"Nah, we can just jump to getting married tomorrow." Mitch rolled his eyes. "We technically are destined to be together, so of course."

The Bacca was quiet. "Wanna go chop people in the Hunger Games?"

"I think you're going to be the best soulmate ever." Mitch grinned, and they linked hands and walked off into their forever.

 _ **X**_

 **AN: Hello everyone! It's been 10 months since I've updated, jeez I'm so sorry!**

 **Life has been a pain in my booty, and my freshman year ends in a few days so that's exciting. I honestly can't wait to start posting for this story and hopefully get some good feedback!**

 **Hope everyone's day is going well!**


	2. Extreme Confusion

**AN: I'm glad to see people are enjoying this! Here's the next chapter!**

 _ **X**_

It was a sword and axe.

A freakin' sword and AXE.

HE WASN'T EVEN GOOD AT HANDLING AXES.

 _But why in the world was he excited to be enrolled at the School for Weapons, then?_

Mitch had enrolled for attack and defense moves, since he knew how to wield and make the weapons he knew best; swords and bows.

The sword and axe was burned into his shoulder, inky black against his tan skin. Mitch had opted to take his jacket and shirt off as he fought against a friend at the training room, grunting as he traded sword blows.

"C'mon Mitch, you're better than this!" Ashley Mariee taunted, twirling and paring his blade. "Are you distracted?"

"A bit, yeah." Mitch admitted, and Ashley stopped immediately, letting her sword go back into its sheath.

"What's up? You know you can tell me anything." Ashley's bright blue eyes were sincere and Mitch gave in.

"It's my soulmate symbol. I haven't met anyone who has it, and I'm nearly twenty years old. What if I'm alone? What if my soulmate doesn't want me?" Mitch said worriedly, remembering his childhood fears surface.

Ashley sighed and pulled up her shirt, showing Mitch the penguin tattoo on her stomach. "This is mine."

The Canadian stared at it in shock. A jagged red line crossed it, and he knew immediately what it was. "Yours died young, didn't they?"

"Her name was Alesa Clark. Fifteen years old, drunk driver who didn't look where he was going." Ashley lowered her shirt. "But you've still got a chance. They might even be here at the school."

Someone cleared their throat and they both jumped. "I think you're looking for me?"

Mitch whirled around while Ashley started to grin. "No way."

Jerome Aceti stood there, a blush rising on his cheeks as he rolled back his sleeve and showed the black tattoo.

Mitch stared at it and started to smile.

"Of course! It makes sense!" Ashley exclaimed. "Jerome, you usually wear suits and they cover your shoulders! I'm a genius!"

Mitch laughed and gave her a hug. "Save some dinner for us in the mess hall?"

"Gotcha. Don't let the food get cold, lovebirds." Ashley winked at the two of them before jogging off.

There was silence between them. "So…" Mitch started. "Did you know it was me?"

Jerome hesitated. "Not for a while. It wasn't until Rob landed that hit on you and you started bleeding and the nurse made you take off your shirt. That was when I saw the symbol and knew you'd be mine."

The Bacca giggled. "I kept getting distracted. All I could think about was you; how I'd start talking to you, our first date, first kiss…soulmate things are fun to think of when you know who the other person is. I also got protective every time I saw someone go up to you."

Mitch smiled. "Well, here I am. Speaking of that first kiss…"

Jerome grabbed Mitch's shirt, yanked him forward, and dipped him into a heated kiss. Mitch hummed against Jerome's mouth and pulled him closer, savoring the closeness of their bodies.

A few minutes passed and they came up for air. Mitch had a cheeky smile on his face as he tangled his fingers in Jerome's fur. "You think I need to give Ashley a rain check?"

"Definitely," Jerome nuzzled Mitch's neck. "You're mine, and I don't intend on letting you go."

 _ **X**_

 **AN: School ends tomorrow! I'll see if I can update more. :) Hope everyone had a great day today!**


	3. screw chapter titles am I right

**AN: I really hope people are enjoying this! I'm going to try my hardest to actually write for this story since I was forced to discontinue one about a year ago and my most popular story has 72 reviews, and I would love to surpass that with this story.**

 **Cheers! :)**

 **EDIT: My ex-boyfriend of a year and five months just broke up with me through a phone call.**

 **Expect some extremely sad Merome next chapter. Just warning you guys.**

 _ **X**_

Sleep was restless for Jerome Aceti. He didn't have any more strength since he was living on his own, trying to fend for himself in the wild. He learned a lot more things than the usual Bacca Clans living in the area and was more intellectual than a good majority of them.

Fishing wasn't going to get him anywhere. Jerome usually sold raw and cooked fish to sailors and other people at a marketplace, since he could distinguish between vile, cooked, and raw. It came in handy since many people stopped getting sick and started to trust him more.

Jerome had gained enough money to buy himself a black suit with a red tie. It was at least something, and Jerome felt comfortable now in clothing.

He stumbled into his treehouse, closed the door, and dropped into his bed, shutting his eyes immediately. "Please, just let something good happen to me for once…" Jerome muttered, falling into an endless sleep.

It seemed like hours before he jerked around and sat up, staring wide-eyed at a hall of trophies. It seemed to stretch on forever, and as Jerome wandered closer, he saw that they read, ' _Hunger Games Champion'_.

"Hunger Games?" Jerome wondered. "Isn't that held in the huge coliseum in Spawn City?"

Before he had time to wonder what the heck he was doing there in the first place, footsteps sounded and Jerome leaped behind a pedestal.

"I hate all of this!" A boy cried, slamming his fist into a trophy. "The guys and girls always come for the money! They never want to hear about anything else, except for the stupid _MONEY_!"

Jerome bravely peered from his hiding spot and nearly gasped out loud. The boy had the spikiest hair he had ever seen, the color similar to chocolate. His eyes were as bright as coffee but were distraught and full of anger.

The boy suddenly burst into tears and kneeled to the floor, shakily running his hand through his hair.

Jerome didn't know what came over him. He didn't know why he got up, why he was walking towards the boy, and he definitely didn't know why he started talking to him.

"Hey…you okay?"

The boy gasped and jumped up, and there was a sword pointed at Jerome's throat.

"Whoa!" The Bacca shrieked. "Calm down!"

"How are you here?" The boy seethed, rage shaking his body. Jerome started to answer but then stopped, confused. "I…I don't know. Last thing I remember is that I went to sleep. Where this is place?"

"My dreams," The boy spat. "I want to know why you're here."

Jerome was absolutely shocked. "Your dreams!? Dude, I just popped in here a few minutes ago. Am I asleep? What's going–"

Realization hit Jerome like a ton of bricks. Wide-eyed, he backed away from the boy. "Oh my gosh."

"What?" The boy growled. Jerome just stared at him. "Think of how I'm here."

"I don't know! You said you fell asleep, and now I'm talking to you…oh no."

"Oh yes," Jerome breathed.

"This is complete bull. You're not my soulmate." The boy spat.

"Oh c'mon!" Jerome snapped, fur rising. "We're talking to each other in _dreams_. What does that tell you?"

For once, the boy was silent. Then he extended his hand and lowered his head. "My name is Mitchell Hughes. When you wake up, can you head to Poofy's Café? My friend runs the place. I'll give her your name so I know when you arrive."

Jerome gave him a smile. "Hi, Mitch. I'm Jerome Aceti. What time are you thinking about?"

"One PM?" Mitch asked, eyes flickering to the static starting to show up. "We're starting to wake up. Will you be there?"

"Of course!" The Bacca agreed, eyes lighting up. "I promise I won't disappoint."

"I know you won't. I'll see you then, Biggums." The Canadian pulled the furry animal into a hug and breathed in his scent, eyes fluttering shut as the smell of chocolate wafted off him.

The dream was vanishing now, and all Jerome could see was Mitch's bright brown eyes. Never before had the color seemed pretty and as of now it was absolutely stunning.

They both waved their farewells and woke up, each ready to meet each other and start their lives together.

 _ **X**_

 **AN: I'm sorry. I lost my creativity for the ending because of incident in above author's note. I hope you'll forgive me; I'll try and make it up for the next oneshot.**

 **I'll see y'all later. Take care everyone.**


	4. Of Colors and Tears

**AN: I'm feeling a lot better since he and I talked it out, and we're gonna stay best friends.**

 **But you guys are still getting a sad chapter, lol. Enjoy!**

 _ **X**_

The world was pretty neutral.

That's all it ever was to many people.

But Mitchell Hughes had seen color for the first time and he was in shock.

It had first started when he had grabbed his best friend's hand to stop him from walking off the sidewalk into incoming traffic, and suddenly the world exploded. Vivid shades of pigments burst into bloom and their names flooded Mitch's mind. _Red. Orange! Yellow…and that's green…the sky is blue! Violet is beautiful!_

Everything dazzled around him and Mitch kept blinking, a huge smile appearing on his face.

"Biggums? Biggums…you there?"

Mitch was silent, staring in awe.

"Mitch!" Jerome cried, smacking him on the shoulder. "You okay?"

The Canadian jumped and let go of Jerome's hand. Immediately, the colors faded and it was black, white, and gray again. "What? Yeah, I'm good. Didja see that?"

"See what?" Jerome asked absentmindedly, checking for any injuries on him. Mitch realized that he hadn't heard him properly and just smiled huge. "Nah, never mind. Do you wanna head to the park and get some food?"

"Yeah, sure. I need some from a scare like that." Jerome smiled at him gratefully.

The two started walking to the park, passing a few friends along the way. Waves were received and smiles were given from strangers who knew the duo.

They eventually reached their destination and went to sit down on the grass. The sun was starting to set and it stained the landscape with gray and white streaks.

Jerome stopped by a hot dog stand and the two got their food. They headed to a grassy area and sat down, looking at their food and then at each other.

"I think today was an eventful day," Jerome commented, finishing half the hot dog in one bite. "Was it for you?"

"It was pretty good. Hey, I need to ask you something," Mitch said eagerly, reaching forward to take Jerome's hand.

The Bacca didn't see the hand and twisted to overhear something. "Hey, that guy over there said there's fireworks in a few minutes. That's exciting!"

"Yeah!" Mitch agreed. It was a few more minutes until the whistle sounded for the fireworks, and they shot into the air.

People let out sighs of joy and held onto each other's hands, eyes lighting up with the sparks from the firecrackers. Jerome shifted a bit and brushed his hand against Mitch's; the colors immediately flared to life and the Canadian let out a sigh of content.

Red sparks streamed down the blue sky and Jerome's green eyes shone with happiness. "Look at this! Isn't it amazing?"

"Yeah," Mitch breathed. He leaned against Jerome and watched as they shone even brighter. Their radiance was extraordinary. Mitch never wanted it to go away.

Caught up in the moment, the Canadian turned to the Bacca and whispered, "Can you see it? How bright they're shining?"

"What?" Jerome turned slightly, confused. "See what?"

"The colors? The fireworks?" Mitch blinked, pointing at the sky.

"Biggums, what are you talking about? The sky's gray right now. I'd be with Alanna right now to see the colors." Jerome nudged his best friend with a smile. "Since you see them, who's your soulmate?"

Silence fell and tears welled in Mitch's eyes. He moved away from Jerome and felt his heart shatter as the neutral colors returned and Jerome's eyes dimmed and returned to gray. "It doesn't matter anymore," he whispered.

Jerome frowned and got closer. Mitch winced as Jerome's fur became a dark chestnut brown. "Biggums? What's wrong?"

"It doesn't matter!" Mitch yelped, getting to his feet. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Mitch!" Jerome yelled, grabbing onto his arm. "You've gotta tell me what's wrong!"

" _I SEE THE COLORS WHEN I'M WITH YOU!_ " Mitch screeched, shoving him away. A burst of violet exploded overheard and faded to white.

A few people were staring at them, and one girl was even crying. Jerome was frozen and staring at Mitch.

The Canadian was breathing heavily. "I–I never noticed, but everything is so _vibrant_ around you. When you give me hugs, the sky turns multiple shades of blue and the trees are shades of green but your eyes will _never_ compare to the trees; they're such a gorgeous green a–and your fur is so fluffy and beautiful and _DAMN IT I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO LOVE YOU PROPERLY!_ "

Jerome reached forward, trying to steady his shaking hands. "Mitch–"

"No! You only see me as a friend now! Jerome, Biggums, it'll never work after this." Mitch was heaving now, feeling hot tears streak down his cheeks. "You don't love me the way I do. I'm romantic, you're platonic. Even if you tried, it wouldn't be the same anymore. You might be in love with someone else and that's okay even if it breaks my heart but I still love you no matter what."

There was a crowd now, and people were hanging on to their respective partners, trying to hide their tears. In the middle of said crowd, Jerome was on his feet and trying to reassure his best friend while Mitch was crying and ranting.

"I…I don't mean as much to you anymore. Admit it, I don't." Mitch whispered, sinking to his knees. "There's no color around me, is there?"

The people leaned forward, waiting for an answer. Jerome hesitated before reaching forward and pressing a hand to Mitch's shoulder.

Color flowed into Jerome's fur and everything else around Mitch. The Bacca took a deep breath.

"No, there's nothing."

And that was that.

Mitch felt his heart just…die. There wasn't anything there. It was like he had been thrown underwater and someone had tied a rock to his feet, binding them together.

 _So this is heartache…_

"I'm sorry," Jerome whispered. "I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Mitch breathed. "It never did. You don't love me and now I'm going to lose you and _holy shit I'm about to lose you_ and I don't know if I can take it."

Mitch struggled to his feet and Jerome held his hand out. The Canadian just smacked it away, ignoring the flash of emerald in Jerome's eyes and the vivid red of an explosion above.

The two faced each other, with the crowd holding baited breath. Mitch tilted his head, and said his goodbyes in four words.

"You have beautiful eyes," Mitch whispered.

And he turned and shoved his way through the crowd, losing his love, his heart, and every color in the spectrum.

 _Goodbye, Jerome. I'll always love you._

And it would have to end that way forever.

 _ **X**_

 **AN: ¾ of that rant is from my own heart. The other part is because in this, Mitch hadn't dated Jerome. They were just friends, and they'll stay like that in this oneshot.**

 **I hope everyone had a good day. I'll get working on the next chapter soon. Thanks for all the reviews!**


	5. HI AGAIN

**AN: I think I've already surpassed half of my stories! Thanks everyone! Sorry about the wait, I got busy with a road trip I'm currently on. I'm headed to Florida from Texas and I'm in Louisiana as I speak (or, type). Fun stuff, eh?**

 _ **X**_

"Okay team, let's try and win that trophy and bragging rights! We have to get the flag and bring it back here and JEROME ROBERT ACETI WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?!" Ashley Mariee shouted, pushing back her violet hair to glare angrily at the Bacca scaling a tree.

"What? I'm just scouting out the territory." Jerome smirked, about to leap into another tree. He was joined by his best friend Mitchell Hughes as the boy huffed a bit, grabbing onto branches.

They would've gone higher but were stopped by the flapping of wings. Dark gray and leathery, they belonged to a friend they knew well. Deadlox's eyes had turned from crimson to amethyst and his headset glowed an ominous purple. "You know the rules," Enderlox growled. "No using special abilities for this!"

"But it isn't a special ability," Jerome protested. "I'm a Bacca. I climb trees daily. It's kinda my thing."

Enderlox rolled his eyes and pointed to another member of the scouting team. There were five in all; Jerome, Mitch, Ashley, and two newcomers named Rouge and Polaris. They both had said early on that those weren't their real names but they liked to be called their current ones.

Rouge blinked as Enderlox cast a look at her. With dark red hair and violet eyes, she was more intimidating than her best friend and even more so with the giant wings on her back. "What? I haven't done anything wrong."

"You have wings, Rouge. Don't use them." The dragon hybrid stated.

"WHAT!? You never said that!" Rouge shouted, flying up to meet Enderlox. Her feathers were a dark shade of gray; Polaris had once said that they used to be a different color, but events had happened that caused her wings to change.

"If you have wings or any other ability, it's technically cheating and you can't participate in the challenge." Enderlox shrugged. "Polaris, that also means no using any of your fancy technology to find the flag."

The boy grumbled to himself and ran a hand through his spiky gray hair, glaring at the ground with bright emerald eyes. "Fiiiiiine."

"Good! Now that you know the rules, everyone can begin!" Enderlox gave them a huge smile full of teeth and flew off to inform the other team. They were formed of Adam, Alesa, Tyler, Jin, and Okward. The objective was to find the flag hidden somewhere in the forest and bring it back to the clearing they had started in.

Jerome just sighed and was about to leap out of the tree when Mitch's branch broke and sent the Canadian plummeting to the forest floor. "I've got you!" Rouge yelled and rushed over to Mitch.

Rouge didn't notice the roots of the tree and slammed into the ground, letting out a loud squeak as she broke Mitch's fall.

"Ow!" Mitch yelped, grabbing onto his elbow. In the same instant, Jerome hissed and grasped his own elbow. Next to Ashley, Polaris squeezed his eyes shut and clutched his stomach.

"You could've…just flown to catch me," Mitch wheezed, rolling over.

Rouge smacked him on the shoulder and got up to rejoin the group. Jerome leaped down and headed to Mitch, making sure he was okay. "You alright? Did you hit your elbow?" The Bacca asked, worried as he checked him over.

"Yeah…how'd you know I hit my elbow?" Mitch blinked, standing still as Jerome completed his examination.

Ashley and Rouge exchanged glances and smiled.

"Never mind," Jerome said quickly.

It was quiet for a few seconds before Ashley clapped her hands. "Alright guys! Let's see where Ty hid the flag. I want those bragging rights so I can tell it straight to Alesa's face."

The team headed off into the forest and started to look around under logs, in creeks, or even in trees.

"Wouldn't it be a dick move if Ty put the flag on top of the tallest tree here?" Rouge commented as she hopped on a log. Mitch snorted and tried to stare off into the distance. "Did he even tell us the color?"

"Nope," Ashley sighed. "There's got to be a loophole in the rules! Anyone have any more talents?"

Jerome shrugged. "Ty said I couldn't climb trees, so I'm out. Mitch is pretty normal for a human and–MITCH COME HERE I SAW YOU ACCIDENTLY STAB YOURSELF WITH A BRANCH!"

"But I'm all the way over here!" Mitch yelled back, rolling his eyes as Jerome rushed over to him.

Ashley giggled and turned back to the other two. "C'mon Polaris, you're the brains of this. Do you have anything else?"

"Nope, I don't. My smarts is all I have." He grumbled, turning to Rouge. "Okay, I know for a _fact_ that you have something else."

Rouge let out a sigh. "Ty took my necklace before this started. That crystal has a few powers I've stored up over the years, but I'm rusty with all of them except for one. Polaris mastered that one as well."

"The telekinesis, right? Didn't you get that from–I FOUND THE LOOPHOLE!" Polaris suddenly screamed, shaking Rouge.

Ashley raised an eyebrow and watched as Mitch and Jerome rejoined the group. "What's the loophole? And keep your voice down, we don't know if Ty's watching." She hissed.

"Rouge! You're an Old Soul!" Polaris breathed. "I know that you learned some tracking skills in the past, and how to hunt down an enemy! It's easier since this one isn't moving, but harder since the flag didn't really leave any trace."

"That's exciting and all, but what's an Old Soul?" Ashley asked, leading the team deeper into the woods. Rouge smiled sheepishly. "I've died several times in the past. And by several, I mean at least a thousand. Very unpleasant, might I add."

"Really brings a new meaning to a thousand ways to die," Jerome muttered.

Polaris high-fived the Bacca and Rouge smiled. "I get reborn and keep on going. The last time I died has been a while, but I got stuck in this form. And luckily for me, I got stuck with wings! The unlucky part is that I'm not even sure I can die from aging or anything else, so I may be stuck like this."

"So you haven't had wings before?" Ashley asked. Jerome's nose started to twitch and he scratched at it.

"Nah, I've been plenty of creatures before. This is a first for me." Rouge shrugged, letting her wings ruffle out. "I like it like this. And the crystal pendant holds a few powers for someone like Polaris, since he's pretty normal. I hold onto it just in case he loses it."

"So you've had experience!" Polaris said eagerly. "Think! We're tracking something, and who has the best nose for it?"

"Jerome," Rouge muttered. She turned to him and a huge smile spread across her face. "You're smelling something. What is it?"

"It's burning and itching," he complained. "And smells like leather."

Ashley started to catch on, grinning. "And who has leather wings?"

"Ty does!" Mitch said suddenly. "And if he hid the flag…"

"C'mon guys! This way!" Jerome leaped up and rushed off, the group following with excitement growing in their hearts.

The Bacca shoved past branches and jumped over logs, wading through creeks and avoiding cliffs. Multiple scratches started to appear on his fur and face and his nose was practically on fire.

Jerome burst into a clearing and immediately winced. Pain flared up in his right ankle at the exact moment that Mitch cried out and fell.

"Did you just sprain your ankle?!" Jerome rushed over, hobbling as he struggled to grab onto Mitch. In the background, Polaris, Rouge, and Ashley were arguing.

"Where's the flag? Didn't Jerome say he'd lead us to it?"

"He's never wrong, it must be around here somewhere!"

"In here? No way. Something must be off here."

Jerome paid them no attention as he snapped at Mitch. "Why couldn't you pay more attention to your surroundings?!"

"I don't have time to be doing that!" He struggled to get up and yelped; a fresh wave of pain washed over Jerome.

"Stop it!" The Bacca growled. "You're making it worse!"

"How do you know?!" Mitch cried back, both of them simultaneously wincing.

"Because you're soulmates, obviously."

The two turned to see Ashley with a huge smile. "You can feel his pain, can't you Jerome? The same goes for you Mitch."

"How?" Jerome whispered.

Ashley rolled her eyes and jabbed herself in the side. A voice cried through the treetops, "OW!"

"My soulmate is Alesa, you nerds. She felt what I just felt."

"And those two–?" Mitch pointed at Rouge and Polaris. The former picked up the other and hurled him through a bush, cheering when the foliage gave way to a secret entrance.

"Yeah, they're definitely soulmates. Rouge knows but Polaris is scared to bring it up in case she just wants to be friends." Ashley shrugged. "He'll tell her eventually."

"Guys! We found the flag!" Polaris shouted, emerging from the bush with a bright silver flag. Rouge came out giggling and had leaves in her hair.

"Awesome!" Ashley cried. "Let's get back to the clearing!"

Jerome hoisted Mitch onto his back and headed off, Polaris bringing up the rear. The group was halfway there when a twig snapped.

Jerome's nose twitched and he sniffed. The scents of roses, jasmine, and… _minerals_?

Oh no.

"Run!" The Bacca yelped, jumping over some roots.

Polaris gave them a weird look but gasped when a flash of red descended from the trees and knocked him down. Ashley stared in shock as Alesa grinned. "Hello darling! You have something that belongs to us."

"Fat chance!" Ashley growled. Another flash of red signaled Rouge's arrival as she raced to Polaris's side and snatched the flag, pulling her soulmate up in the process.

Adam himself came down with Jin, Okward, and Tyler. "C'mon Ashley! Don't you love Adam? Everyone loves Adam."

"Ty's your soulmate, sorry." Ashley grinned. "Rouge! GO!"

The Old Soul saluted her and took off, wings going at a slight angle to propel her forward more. Polaris helped support Mitch as Jerome walked on the other side.

The flapping of wings showed that Enderlox had arrived. He swooped down and picked up Mitch, nodding at the rest of them. "I'll make sure he's fine. Go catch up to Rouge, she's gotten quite a lead on Alesa."

Everyone there nodded and took off running. Jerome had an advantage and leaped onto trees, digging his claws into the bark and shooting off into the forest.

He saw the flash of red hair and watched in horror as Alesa finally got the jump on Rouge. The two girls went sprawling across the forest floor; the flag shot out of Rouge's grip and landed next to a creek.

"Wow, your hair smells really nice!" Rouge wheezed, leaping backwards. "What do you use in it?"

"My own blend of ingredients! After this is over, do you want me to make you a batch?" Alesa coughed, putting a hand to her side.

"Sure, I appreciate it!" The two girls smiled at each other but gasped when Jerome sped by, clutching the flag.

"You distracted me!" Alesa gasped.

Rouge blinked. "Well, not on purpose. I wasn't kidding when I said your hair smells nice. Did you make Ashley's conditioner as well?"

"Yeah, it's my thing. I like to make things that smell nice." Alesa shrugged. Ashley came rushing through the trees while putting a hand to her stomach. "Did you get punched in the stomach?"

"Sorry, she stepped on my hair." Rouge called out. The three girls acknowledged each other and walked off to the clearing, chatting about feminine products.

Adam and his friends stopped dead in their tracks; Polaris was right after, wheezing in pain. "H-How…does she manage…to run that far?" He gasped, sinking to the ground.

Enderlox's shout scared them all. "And the trophy goes to Ashley's team! Congratulations!"

"We won? We won!" Ashley cheered, grabbing onto Alesa's hand. "Jerome did it!"

"He sure did," a voice said. Everyone turned to see Mitch hobbling next to them with crutches.

"Seto checked me out, said I had a sprained ankle and need to keep off it for a few days. Otherwise I should be fine." Mitch gave them winning smiles.

Jerome came through the trees and stopped when he saw Mitch. "Hey, Biggums!"

The Bacca just grinned and rushed at him, wrapping him into a deep embrace. "You idiot, I told you to look where you were going."

Mitch cast his glance over to Ashley. "Does the soulmate bond work with happy feelings as well?"

Ashley slipped her hand into Alesa's and the two smiled. "You bet it does."

"Then that's all I need to know." Jerome reached forward and crushed his lips against Mitch's, and the two practically melted into each other's arms.

Adam whispered something to Enderlox and the wings vanished; his teeth went back to regular, and his eye color faded and then burned with crimson.

Ty shook off the form and smiled shyly at Adam, who kissed him on the cheek. "C'mon Ty, let's go celebrate! They invited us to go eat at Bodil's Café. Apparently they make pizza now."

The group headed off, with Mitch and Jerome still kissing. Polaris appeared from behind a bush, rubbing his head.

"Guys? Did they leave me behind again?" The boy asked, blinking.

Jerome turned to Polaris. "I…I'm not quite sure."

Polaris looked sad for a moment before he was whisked upwards, shouting with surprise. "Calm down you big nerd, I'm not going to let you fall." Rouge's hair fell into his face.

She flapped her wings once before yelling at the other two, "Come on you lovebirds! I don't want to miss that food!"

Jerome looked at Mitch. "You okay to walk?"

"Yeah–actually, no." Mitch's cheeks burned. "My ankle still hurts."

The Bacca giggled. "I can tell. Rouge, can you help?"

The girl descended a bit, stirring up leaves and twigs with the force of her wings. They folded in and Rouge dropped a few feet, depositing Polaris.

"I have to carry you bridal style, since it would hurt my wings if I gave you a piggyback ride. Believe me, Polaris tried. I hope you don't mind, Jerome, since you'll do the same thing at your wedding soon." Rouge gave him a cheeky grin and picked up Mitch.

Jerome was red in the face and scuffled the ground. "Ahhhh…yeah, okay."

Rouge knelt for a moment and then took off, Mitch cheering as she vanished over the treetops.

It was quiet for a few seconds and then Polaris patted him on the shoulder. "Think you could give me a piggyback ride through the trees?"

Jerome laughed out loud and responded, "Maybe. Now let's go get some pizza!"

 _ **X**_

 **AN: I love how I've traveled in several states when I was writing this. I'm in Florida now; gonna go see Universal Studios and Harry Potter's Wizarding World tomorrow!**

 **This chapter wasn't complete Merome, but my way of saying thank you for all of you guys being patient with me on this. Also I've introduced my two OCs; I won't put them in every single chapter, but they'll be background charries or something like that and they'll help Merome happen on several occasions. Hope everyone doesn't mind…**

 **I'll see how soon I can write the next chapter! Have a great day! :)**


	6. Read AN!

**AN: Okay I've realized that I'm not going to do a whole lot of 'bonds' together for soulmates, I'm just going to use Merome as the basic OTP for every chapter until I get bored of this story. So I'm willing to use some prompts for them as well! I haven't updated in nearly a week; like I said, I've been in Disney World and I'm currently going home.**

 **Let's get this story back on track, shall we?**

 _ **X**_

Rain splattered on the pavement outside the huge college. Nighttime had fallen across the campus and the sky was obscured by clouds. Inside one of the hallways, a boy crept through its shadows and managed to sneak into the library.

He shuffled through a door and pulled out his phone, using the flashlight to check the spines of several books. "Crap, no, that's not what I want…" He muttered, switching the phone to his other hand to adjust the beanie on his head.

"Halt! Who goes there?" A voice hissed.

The boy jumped and dropped his phone, gasping quietly when it hit the ground. The chair where the librarian usually sat swiveled around and another boy was sitting there, grinning.

"Haha, should've seen the look on your face!" The second boy snickered. "Wait…aren't you–?"

"Shut up," the first boy muttered, picking up his phone. "I need some help with my chemistry final, so I came here to study."

"Ah, the teacher's pet." The second boy jumped out of the chair and headed over to the first one, golden dog tag gleaming brightly in the dark. "Shouldn't you be in bed? I thought you had a curfew!"

"The rules don't apply to you at all, do they?" The first one sighed. "Shouldn't you be vandalizing something? I don't think any teachers have caught you yet."

"I'm too good!" The second boasted. "I heard that Ms. Clark has some candy in her desk, and I'm about to get the drawer open–"

The library door was thrown open and the boy froze, staring as a few teachers burst into the room. The first immediately grabbed his hand and rushed to one of the bookcases, fixing his beanie and growling angrily under his breath.

"What're you doing?! We're gonna get caught!" The boy with the dog tag hissed, ready to throttle the other.

The boy with the beanie ignored him and kept pulling books, trying to figure out where the right one was. "If that's the book about gemstones, and astrology is right below it…next to the globe, above physics… _aha_!"

A part of the bookcase swung open and he rushed in, grabbing the other boy and ushering him in. "Go farther to the back! There's only one way in and one way out. They won't see you if you're farther back."

"Where are we?" The second boy gaped, looking around.

The first boy kept looking out and finally closed the door, locking it. "Awesome, we escaped them."

"Hello? Damn it, answer me Jerome!" The second boy snapped. "Where did you take us?!"

Jerome Aceti let out a huge sigh and adjusted his bear beanie one final time. "Mitchell Hughes, if you had any patience, then you would've realized that there's a secret door to a room that no one knows but me. You people wonder why I always vanish and do so well in class…here you go. My big secret. This is where I study."

Mitch stared in shock at his surroundings. "Whoa…I guess you aren't that much of a freak after all. How'd you find it?"

"I was studying for a test and Mr. Brotato forgot I was in here and he locked the doors on me. I couldn't get out so I decided to find some books to read, and I found this place on accident." Jerome puffed out his chest, bright green eyes shining with joy.

He seemed to deflate in the next second. "Please don't tell anyone else. This is my own piece of the world that I love and I've made this mine."

Mitch hesitated, staring him down. Jerome seemed like a smart kid, and Mitch was failing half his classes. Jerome also wasn't that bad looking and Mitch didn't have a preference for people he dated…

"Sure," the Canadian shrugged. "I don't have anything to lose, so why not? But I do want one thing."

"And what's that?" Jerome asked nervously, eyes flickering up to Mitch's face.

"You gotta help me with my finals, dude. I don't want to fail." Mitch's lips curved up.

"Deal." Jerome nodded, reaching out to shake hands.

The two smiled brightly and waited behind the bookshelf until dawn, where they told stories of their lives and entertained themselves with hilarious moments.

When they opened the secret door, everyone was gone, so Jerome walked out and stretched and beckoned to Mitch. "We gotta go, don't want to be late–"

Suddenly, arms wrapped around his back and Mitch pulled the younger boy into his chest. "Thank you."

Jerome smiled and found himself nuzzling into his warm chest. "That's what best friends are for, right?"

The two linked arms and walked off, still talking about their date plans for later on that day.

Meanwhile, in the very back of the room, another door opened and two boys stepped into the 'secret' room. "Wait…so we're not the only ones who know about this?" One of them blinked, crimson red eyes wide.

The other snorted and adjusted his sunglasses, making sure his amulet wasn't crooked. "Well, it's kind of obvious."

"How? Adam, you just know about it because of the prank you pulled." The other boy rolled his eyes.

Adam giggled. "Oh Ty, if you knew the secrets in this school, then you'd know that there's a huge stash of candy in the librarian's desk. C'mon! Let's go get some snacks!"

 _ **X**_

 **AN: My endings are getting worse every chapter, oh jeez.**

 **Maybe I'll have another chapter about the college that's full of secrets? I don't know. Maybe, since they just became best friends in this chapter…**

 **Oh and sometimes I pair Adam with either Ty or Alesa, just to give a heads up. If Adam's with Ty then I put Alesa with Ashley.**

 **There's so many pairings…**

 **Have a nice day!**


	7. Steven Universe style!

**AN: Dang, I know I went on a small hiatus, but I guess this story isn't interesting anymore? That sucks. Well, I'll still keep writing!**

 **Also, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe come back very soon and I'm not ready for that. Help.**

 **In honor of that, I've thrown Mitch and Jerome into the giant pool of gemstones to see what they'll end up as. Ta-da!**

 _ **(That took so much research oh my gosh it was crazy.)**_

 _ **X**_

It was during the night when it happened.

Moonstone was chilling out near the large cliff where he and his friends lived. He adjusted his tunic and glanced out over the ocean. It was…strange, to say the least, since he had joined this group of gems several lunar cycles ago.

Sunstone was his best friend, and she practically bathed in sunlight and the warmth. She didn't mind the cold though, and opted to sit with Moonstone most nights.

This was one of those times and her bright violet eyes (the only color on her body that wasn't associated with the bright hues of the spectrum) were staring at the moon. "When do you think Aventurine will be back?"

"He'll be back soon," Moonstone sighed. "He's on his way, I think." The gem ran his hand through his hair and looked at the fiery gemstone next to him.

Sunstone just nodded and mulled her thoughts over Aventurine. He was fairly powerful and was the brawn of the group. Aventurine could fight his way through pretty much anything and everything.

But…why was he late?

A groan alerted the two of them, and they leaped to their feet, weapons drawn. Sunstone immediately tensed with her haladie, which was a double edged knife. Moonstone reached for his bow and arrow and stared in shock at the sight in front of him.

Aventurine had a sword through his chest, where his gemstone lay. His eyes were wide with shock as he looked at the other two gemstones. His blue-green body was covered in scratches and bite marks.

"Sorry…but I managed to save him…" Aventurine hissed out, turning his gray and orange gaze to Sunstone. "Look after him, won't you?"

Her eyes went wide with horror. "No. You can't do this. You can't leave him alone."

Moonstone looked confused. "What's going on? Save who?"

Sunstone raked her nails through her bright red hair and cursed for the first time in Moonstone's presence. "Of course you don't know…Aventurine! C'mon, you've got to heal yourself! Retreat into your gems!"

Aventurine's eyes went completely orange and he stared at her. "The monster was too big and too powerful. Sunstone, my gem is nearly shattered. I don't have long."

Moonstone kept staring as Aventurine's eyes went gray, shifting color. "No! Please!" The voice that came out of the gem's mouth was an octave lighter. "You promised you wouldn't go!"

The gem's weapon rolled out of his hand; a khopesh, a mixture of a sword and an axe. Sunstone brought her trembling hands to her mouth.

Aventurine opened his mouth for the last time; "I'm sorry."

And the area was suddenly shrouded in white smoke.

 _ **X**_

When Moonstone could see again, he immediately spotted the bright hues of Sunstone kneeling over someone, sobbing. "C'mon Agate, get up!"

Feeling as though he could help, Moonstone headed over and recoiled at the sight.

Two gemstones littered the ground, but one was nearly done forming. The light from the brown stone showed to be a boy with spiky brown hair. He rushed over to the nearly broken gemstone and cupped it in his palms, shaking with grief. "S-Sunstone, he's a-almost done regenerating, r-right?"

Sunstone just turned her head away. "I'm sorry Tiger…but I don't think he's coming back."

The boy–Tiger's Eye, Moonstone was guessing–let out a choking sob. "We were doing great until we realized that the stupid monster had a sword for a tail. It went straight for us and we whirled around and I didn't realize that he had taken the blow for us."

Sunstone looked up at Moonstone, who didn't say a word. "Aventurine was a fusion, if you didn't already guess. They've been fused for a very long time and it was rare if they unfused for something. This is Tiger's Eye, someone I've known for a very long time."

Tiger still had tears streaming down his face as he held the other gemstone. "A-And this is Moss Agate, or Agate f-for short. He was my best friend. I loved him so much and he sacrificed himself for me."

Sunstone put a hand on his shoulder, attempting to do what she did best; heal. "And Agate loved you very much," she soothed. "But you'll live on in his memory, right?"

"Yeah." Tiger sniffed. "I didn't know that our neck was exposed, which is where my gem is, and Agate turned so the sword hit him instead and I'll never be able to form Aventurine again no this can't be happening–"

He broke down even more, wailing loudly as he held onto the gem. It shattered upon impact and made Sunstone herself stumble.

"Moonstone, I'm sorry." She whispered, crouching to rock Tiger back and forth. "You don't have to be a part of this."

The other gem considered this and tapped his gem, which lay upon his forehead. Brains and thinking is what Moonstone was, so he considered his options.

Choosing to do what was right, he knelt down and brought the two crying gems in for a hug. They clung to him, shaking and trembling and Moonstone whispered sweet and simple things into their ears to calm down.

Eventually, it was Tiger who drew himself back first. His eyes were swollen and red and he looked down at the shattered gem. "I'm going to go get tape, fix him up, and retreat into my gem. I'll be out soon. Is that okay?"

Sunstone lifted her head, red hair spilling everywhere. "Yes. Please, be careful. I know everyone's grief is still raw, but I don't want you to do something irresponsible and end up not being with us anymore. You can still preserve Agate's memory by living, okay?"

Tiger went quiet and blinked, gray eyes dull. "Okay. I'll be back in a few hours or something like that. The time conception that humans created is a bit weird."

The younger gem collected his love's remains and headed off to their large treehouse, head low. Sunstone just plopped onto the ground and stared out over the ocean.

"Are you okay?" Moonstone asked, then immediately regretted it. The pain in his best friend's eyes was bright and tear tracks were still visible.

"The last time they unfused, Tiger and Agate played several pranks with me." Sunstone murmured. "The last prank they pulled was giving each other human names and giving me a heart attack, since I thought humans had found us."

"What were the names?" Moonstone asked, pulling Sunstone closer to him. She gave a sad smile. "Mitch and Jerome. Tiger changed to Mitch, and Agate changed to Jerome. They joked that when they fused, they became Merome, not Aventurine."

The moon gem smiled. "I bet they were great."

"They really were," Sunstone shook her head. "I was the big sister when they were rarely apart and then the little sister when they were Aventurine. They were fearless, a fusion that was about love and protecting others. I wish you could've met Agate…"

She paused for a moment, watching the moon set and the sun rise. "Tiger is his soulmate. They were two halves of a whole; without one, the other wouldn't have been happy. It will take many, many years, but Tiger will one day move on. He will never forget Agate and neither will I, but it will be tough."

Sunstone went quiet and Moonstone glanced at her. "And I'll be here too. I don't have intention of leaving, so I guess I'll be with you guys for a long time as well."

The gem smiled. "Good. I've grown used to having you around here."

In the window of their home, Tiger's Eye watched the two talk. He wondered how long it would take Moonstone to ask Sunstone to fuse with him, and he knew Sunstone would say yes.

Looking down at the now taped Agate, he smiled for the first time. "Hey, maybe one day I'll join you. But I think you'll be mad at me for doing that right now, so I just want you to enjoy the sunrise with me."

Pressing a kiss to the cold surface, Tiger climbed to the roof, set Agate down, and watched as the last star disappeared and the sun rose over the horizon.

"Goodbye, Agate. I love you."

 _Goodbye, Tiger. I love you._

 _ **X**_

 **AN: In honor of Steven Bomb 3.0, I turned Mitch into Tiger's Eye and Jerome into Agate.**

 **I didn't quite go into details because I wanted to get this chapter out and it's kinda late for me and I didn't want to waste my time with details, so I went with basics.**

 **Also pardon me hope no one minds me throwing Rouge–Sunstone and Polaris–Moonstone in there. I needed someone else to be with the Merome duo so problem solved.**

 **Hope everyone's day is going great!**


	8. Ticking

**AN: I seem to go on a break a lot, don't I? I'm really sorry, I've been busy with family and trips and I've just been really tired. But I'll be fine. Enjoy!**

 _ **X**_

Time seemed like a constant thing, destined never to stop or pause or slow down. It was a bit of a complicated idea to many people but they disregarded it and moved on with their lives. Space was even stranger and majority couldn't quite wrap their minds around it, so they kept with time.

And these were the reasons that true love came in the form of time upon their wrists. Their hearts were certain that their lover came with the ending of their clocks and it was extremely rare where no one was destined for them, their clock an unforgiving zero.

That was the fear that Jerome Aceti had when he was five years old and was staring at his clock. It seemed…glitched, and he was scared to tell his mother. The numbers kept switching and fading out and fear had his fur on end.

There was a knock on the door and Jerome's mother–Willow– entered the room, kindness etched into her face. She was a loving Bacca and always supported her son no matter what, and she was quite popular among her son's friends.

"Jerome?" She asked softly. "Are you okay? I called for dinner about ten minutes ago."

The young Bacca jerked to attention, eyes quickly darting to his wrist once more. "Oh, sorry. I'll be down in a moment."

Jerome's mother followed his gaze and she smiled, showing white teeth. "Is this about your soulmate clock?"

He stared into his mother's eyes and nodded tearfully. "Yeah."

"Well, let's see it!" Willow encouraged him. "Is something wrong with it?"

"I don't know!" Jerome whimpered. "It's being weird and freaking out and I'm scared it's gonna become zero!"

Willow hummed thoughtfully. "You haven't met your soulmate yet, but I've seen this before."

"You have?" Jerome's eyes went huge.

She nodded, ruffled her son's fur and smiled widely. "You and your soulmate are spiritually bound. No matter what, you two were destined together. The glitching means they're close by, either in the town or neighborhood."

Jerome lowered his gaze. "What if they're a boy?"

Willow didn't hesitate as she answered, "I'll still love them the same as well."

The Bacca seemed to slump with relief and his mother laughed. "Come on down and have dinner, okay? I love seeing my handsome boy's face!" She squashed him into a hug and Jerome squealed. "Moooom!"

Willow released her son and headed to his door. "Trust me, everything will work out! Just you wait." She remarked, grasping the doorknob and heading into the hallway.

The last thing Willow saw before she closed the door was her Jerome brightening up with the biggest smile on his face, and it brought tears of joy to her eyes.

 _ **X**_

 _ **Five years later**_

Being ten years old was quite an accomplishment to Jerome. He had a few friends, his grades were pretty average, and life was pretty good since fifth grade was about to end.

He was sitting with Quentin, a Mudkip (but they all called him a fish), Adam, a boy with curly brown hair, sunglasses and an amulet that he explained was an heirloom, and Seto, a boy who was obsessed with magic and was determined to learn some stuff.

The end of school was a wonderful time for everyone and they were perched on the edge of their seats, eyes wide with excitement. Fingers kept drumming on the desk and smiles were widening.

Jerome and friends sat near the door, their bodies' already half out of their seats as they held onto their backpacks.

Out of the corner of Jerome's eye, he noticed a young boy with spiky brown hair sitting by the window. He seemed to be staring out the window, not focused on the clock like everyone else.

Clocks…

Jerome turned to his wrist with wide green eyes, starting to tremble as the clock glitched for several seconds.

His staring seemed to attract the boy, and he turned to meet Jerome's eyes. Almond met emerald and they couldn't move.

A small beeping sound tore Jerome away from the boy and he turned his attention back to his wrist.

Jerome's heart stopped.

 _00:00_

 _RIIIIIIIING!_

The flood of children suddenly swarmed the door, and Jerome was tugged out of his seat. "C'mon!" Adam urged. "We've gotta go; your mom promised a sleepover with popcorn!"

"Wait, Adam–" Jerome tried to say, attempting to find the boy with brown hair. "Adam, wait! That kid–"

"You can tell us later!" Adam said happily, meeting up with Quentin and Seto. "Time to celebrate! We're in middle school now!"

Jerome flailed his arms around but couldn't get out of Adam's pull. Tears streamed down his cheeks and the Bacca swore he felt his heart break.

Willow was waiting for the boys when they piled into her car, pride gleaming on her face. "Hello! Aren't you guys excited?" She cried out happily, pulling all four into a hug.

"We're in middle school now, Mrs. Aceti!" Quentin and Adam cheered. Seto just grinned.

Jerome stayed quiet. Concerned, Willow looked at her son. "Jerome?"

He gazed out the window, sniffling. Shock flared when he saw the boy with spiky brown hair look downcast as he headed by, walking with a young girl. The girl had poofy brown hair and patted him on the back, saying something back to him and bringing a sad smile to the boy's face.

"Wait!" Jerome yelped. "Don't go! No! Please!"

It was too late. They couldn't hear him through the window and they headed to another car, getting in and driving off.

Willow and the boys stared at him in shock. The beeping noise came again on Jerome's wrist and he didn't need to look down to realize that it had reset.

"I'm so sorry." Willow murmured. "But you'll have another chance, I promise."

Adam, Quentin, and Seto looked sad. "Dude, I'm so sorry." Adam whispered. "If I hadn't been such a complete idiot–"

Jerome shook his head. "No, it's okay." He rasped. "Another day."

They drove off in silence.

 _ **X**_

Jerome was looking forward to sophomore year. Seto carpooled with him, and Adam was meeting up with them with Ty.

"Dude, can you even set anything on fire?" Jerome laughed, punching Seto in the arm.

"I'm a wizard, you numbskull." Seto smirked. "But my magic lessons are paying off."

"Why don't you enlighten us?" Adam swung an arm over Seto's shoulder, smiling at Ty who came up behind him.

The wizard rolled his eyes but still smiled, and he closed his lilac eyes.

There was nothing for a few seconds, but then Jerome felt his tie lift up. Adam yelped as his sunglasses floated off and his extremely bright golden eyes shone. Ty's headphones came off as well and the smaller boy blinked in shock.

"Okay, okay, you're improving." Jerome giggled. Seto gave him a bright smile and let the items drop. Adam grabbed onto his sunglasses and put them back on with a grin.

"What's up guys?" Alesa stopped by the group, bright red hair trailing down her back. "Showing off some magic, Seto?"

"Well, it is my specialty." Seto smiled. "Hopefully by senior year, I'll learn enough magic to do the best senior prank ever."

"Dude, that would be _amazing_. Can you imagine the possibilies?" Adam sighed wistfully.

The entire group just gave Seto a thumbs up.

"Oh! I also met my soulmate over the summer!" Alesa said excitedly. Jerome felt his stomach drop and Adam and Seto gave him sad looks.

Middle school had been useless. Jerome had held onto the hope that maybe the boy had gone to their middle school, but no such luck. 6th, 7th, and 8th grade were somewhat okay and would've been horrible if he didn't have his friends to help him out.

Freshman year was average. Nothing really happened, except Adam finding his soulmate in Ty and when someone tried to bully Ty, Adam had whipped off his sunglasses, staring down the bully until he ran. Since it wasn't physical or even verbal, Adam got off scot-free and they had a celebration at lunch.

With freshman year came Alesa, who became Adam's best friend, and even helped him ask Ty to homecoming. She was always willing to help no matter what and Jerome and friends were grateful for her.

"So, who's your soulmate?" Ty asked, brushing his long bangs back.

Alesa blushed and called to a girl waiting with a boy. "Well, this here is Ashley, my one and only, and her best friend Mitch!"

An electric jolt went through Jerome at the name but he didn't move. Ashley had dark blue hair that faded to violet at the bottom and Adam laughed. "Fire and ice, cool. I like it."

Ashley giggled. "Yeah, we had that reaction too."

Mitch was staring intently at Jerome and the Bacca still didn't say anything. Ashley frowned and smacked him on the shoulder. "Mitch! Don't be rude!"

"Ashley," Mitch whispered. "I think that's him."

Another realization came to mind–the girl that was talking with Mitch was Ashley all those years ago. The one in front of Jerome was taller with more defined features and a filled out body but it was still the same girl, so that meant it was the same boy.

Mitch still had the spiky hair, and his eyes had never changed. The duo were still staring at each other until Seto, with a wave of his hand, used the air to push them closer together.

The rest of the group looked ecstatic. Ashley looked ready to cry and Adam looked ready to scream.

"Um, hi." Jerome said nervously. A huge smile broke onto Mitch's face. "Hi again."

The Bacca grinned and pulled Mitch into him, giving him a huge hug and inhaling his scent. Coffee, bonfires, and autumn leaves. Perfection.

Cheers rang out and then Mitch pulled away, cupping Jerome's cheeks. "I lost you all those years ago and I'm never going to do that again."

"Well, technically we didn't know each other–" But Jerome was cut off as Mitch put his lips on his and started their forever.

 _ **X**_

"Hey Mom, I'm home!" Jerome called out. Mitch stood next to him, fiddling nervously.

Willow appeared from around the corner. "Hi honey! Sorry about not getting you from school, I got really busy. How was it? Oh! Who's this?"

A huge smile grew on Jerome's face. Willow cocked her head, looking confused. "Jerome?"

Mitch's cheeks went a dark red and he held his wrist out. The female Bacca got closer, looking at Jerome and Mitch's wrists.

 _00:00_

Tears filled Willow's eyes and she grabbed onto Mitch's arms. "Oh my goodness. You're him. You're the one who's destined for my son."

"Hi," Mitch whispered.

A watery smile appeared on Willow's face and she crushed him into a hug. "It's so nice to meet you. Keep my son happy."

Mitch nodded immediately and wrapped his arms around her trembling form. "Of course, Mrs. Aceti. I'm Mitchell Hughes, or just Mitch."

"Hello, 'just Mitch'." Willow laughed, wiping her eyes. "I'm going to tell you this once; if you ever need anything, or need to stay over or want to stay for dinner, you tell me, and I'll be there."

Mitch blinked and looked at Jerome, who had the proudest smile on his face. "Yeah, my mom's pretty amazing."

Tears filled Mitch's eyes and he nodded. "I'll remember that, thank you."

Willow clapped her hands together. "So I'm guessing that everyone's coming over for dinner?"

"Yep. Alesa found Ashley and they're really happy." Jerome smiled.

Willow gasped with excitement. "So many soulmates! This is exciting! Did Seto ever get a soulmate?"

Jerome and Mitch exchanged glances. "I…don't know." Jerome blinked. "I don't think he ever told us."

"Well, no matter." Willow went to grab her phone. "Pizza's on me tonight."

The duo cheered and intertwined their fingers, smiling at each other. Willow gazed at them with pride. "There's love in every gesture they do for each other. They really are destined together."

Well, of course, since they were written in the stars, through time and space.

Together.

 _ **X**_

 **AN: Wow I really like this chapter! I'm proud of it!**

 **I like to imagine that while they're all eating at the pizza place, someone asks Seto if he has a soulmate and he just pulls back his wrist and the clock's been at zero the whole time and everyone gasps and Ty screams, "Who is it?!" And Seto's got that happy smirk and he says it's Brice and Adam chokes on his pizza or something like that.**

" **Why'd you never tell us?" "You never asked, duh."**

 **I hope everyone's having a great day!**


	9. Dialogue

**AN: There's school, I'm a sophomore in an AP class, so I managed to write a small drabble. Enjoy!**

 **no this story isn't on hiatus I'm just really bad at updating**

 _ **X**_

 _Crunch._

 _Crunch._

He exhaled, closing his eyes and opening them again to stare at the graying sky. He hesitated for a moment, letting snowflakes settle on his jacket before he pushed open the iron gate and staring at who he had come to see.

A smile formed, cheeks a rosy red. "Hello."

"Hello again!"

"How are you?"

"I'm doing well. And you?"

"I'm okay. How's it going?"

"Could be better, I suppose."

A silence descended. The first man shifted, rocking his weight as he tightened his scarf. "Everyone says hello, by the way. Should I tell them you're doing well?"

"Yeah! Thanks. I appreciate it."

More silence.

The first man opened his mouth and closed it, then burst out with, "I have something to say to you!"

"Oh? What's that?"

"I…never got to tell you…I'm so sorry it's late!"

"Don't worry about it! What is it?"

The first man gulped and took a deep breath. "I love you. I always have. From the moment you became my best friend, and all the dates we took. I'm sorry I never asked you out."

"Hey, it's fine. Besides, there's always another chance! And I love you too. I really do."

A small smile appeared on the first man's face. "I love you more. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay! I'll see you soon!"

"Goodbye, my love."

And with that, Jerome Aceti turned around, pushed open the gate of the cemetery, and paused for a second.

He closed his emerald eyes. Another breath was taken.

When he opened his eyes, they were filled with love and heartbreak.

Jerome adjusted his bear hat and continued on his way, hands in pockets and watching his breath spiral into the air and vanish.

In the meantime, Mitchell Hughes's ghost lounged on his gravestone, watching the figure of Jerome disappear into the distance.

For the first time since he had died, a smile had crept over his face.

He was at peace.

"Goodbye, Jerome. I love you."

 _ **X**_

 **AN: You can make up what happened. No, Jerome can't see Mitch. He's trying to guess what Mitch's side of the conversation is. He's hoping that Mitch's ghost is there and of course he is, waiting for his Bacca to return to him.**

 **Hope everyone is having a good day!**


	10. Poetry

**AN: Enjoy!**

 _ **X**_

You're wondering why he's called you to go to the old coffee shop once more. It's been over a year since everything; why now?

Autumn has finally arrived. The leaves are twirling down from the now barren trees, littering the ground in their shades of golden and crimson. There's a chill signaling the upcoming winter, and you breathe fresh air and let a small smile travel over your expression. Man, you wish this season would never end.

But all good things eventually reach their end, and you keep this thought in mind as you pull open the door, hearing a chime echo at your arrival. The barista, a girl with bright red hair, eyes you down as you walk up to her.

"You fit his description." She says, glancing briefly at your attire. "Judging by how you look and the way he's staring…"

You simply nod, confirming her suspicions. "Ah. Well, good luck to you, then." Her startling violet eyes gleam for a moment and you turn back around, ready to finish this.

You can see the raw emotion in his eyes and you pretend not to notice. Unbuttoning your coat, you set it over the chair and sit down.

"Thanks for coming," he says. There's an untouched cup of coffee on the table. The ring is visible on his napkin. "Didn't think you would actually come."

You give him a sharp look. Once upon a time you would've appreciated the snarky remark, but you aren't having any of it today.

"Why now?" Your question is short and to the point. No more sleepless nights, no more tears shed. It hasn't been for a while now and you intend to keep it that way.

He blinks, startled. "Oh…I didn't expect you to start off this way. No hello?"

"There wasn't a proper goodbye. There's no point." You reply, settling back in your chair. You're giving him no mercy today. The time for that has long past.

He opens his mouth and then closes it again. "…I'm sorry."

You laugh, making him look shocked once more. "Please don't give me false promises. I didn't come here for that."

"But then why _did_ you come here?" He demands, eyes narrowing. "To make me feel even worse? To call me out on my mistakes?"

"And why would I do that? Thought I didn't matter anymore enough to hurt you." You take a glance at the menu on the board. That does look pretty good…

Leaving the other to struggle to find an answer, you get up and head back to the bright red barista. She raises an eyebrow at you. You give her a quick smile and give her your order, paying her with a twenty. "Keep the rest. I'm in a pretty good mood today."

She grins back at you. "Let me guess the rest of the situation, if I may?"

You incline your head and nod. "Give it a shot."

"He dumps you, then while later realizes he made a huge mistake and wants you back and you ain't having any of that, are you?" She smirks.

"Absolutely correct. You're a wonderful barista." You laugh, shaking her hand. She jerks her head at him, eyeing him down.

"Give 'em hell, okay?"

Your smile is big and genuine. "It's the least he deserves."

You head back with your drink, plopping down into your chair. "Where were we?"

"Can't you see that I want you back?" He whispers, eyes wide. "I miss you. I made a horrible mistake and I want to fix it."

"Funny, I distinctly remembering you saying something about not loving me anymore." You say dryly. "I was bad for you."

"No, you weren't!" He exclaims. "I was being an idiot, and–"

"Yeah, you were." You cut him off. In another time maybe, just maybe, you would've accepted his apology but no, it's far too late and you already cut him out of your life like he did to you.

"Look, my life was improving again. My friends and I are doing great things, okay? You're the one who did this to yourself. You think I wanted to break up? Nah, I didn't. But that's your fault. I'm happy again." You shrug, taking a sip out of your cup. That girl knew how to make a damn good drink.

He's staring at you. "You're…you're saying no?"

"What, you thought I would come running back to you like that?" You snort, setting the drink down. "Let me tell you what you did to me in the form of poetry. You were once my galaxy. I was the moon. You loved my moonlight, how pretty it was and how it turned things silver. But then you grew bored and tired and wanted something else, something better, so you fell out of love with me and moved on to hopefully find a better star."

He's trembling now, not able to pick up his coffee cup. You continue, feeling the words flow out of you. "I lit the darkest parts of you and tried to make you happy. It worked for a while but then you just cut me out. Do you have any idea how that feels? No, you don't, because you did it to me, not the other way around."

"If I hadn't have done that…" he whispers, letting his gaze drop to the oak table. You look at him, taking in the way he's hunched over, eyes brimming with tears, trembling with shock.

You feel sorry for him. "If you hadn't done that, then this conversation would be a date and I'd probably be laughing at the jokes you'd be saying. Then we'd probably walk down the street and wander around the park because of the weather and finish it off with a kiss at the fountain in the center. But that didn't happen, and now we're here."

He's crying now, and you shove your napkin towards him. "I think you need this more than I do."

"I love you," he blurts out. "I love you Mitch. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

It's the first time he's used your name the whole time you've been here. You used to love the way he said it, like honey, but now it feels like poison and you slightly shudder.

You decide that you'll finally end all of this. He gave you up so long ago, and it took you months to get over him. Once you did, you found that you'd live and you had continued to live your life since.

Why bring all that back now? You were happy. He was happy when you were gone, why was he sad now? It made no sense, and you didn't feel like opening the part of your life that was full of tears and sadness and questions. You were pretty much done with it and wanted to never open it again.

To you, this is the worst and best way you could do it.

"Jerome, I love you the way I love coffee." You finally say, tipping your cup at him.

Tears are dripping down his cheeks as he stares at your beverage.

You take another sip of your hot chocolate. "I don't."

He doesn't say a word, staring with empty eyes. You know he'll get over you again. That's fine. It didn't concern you anymore. Yes, it might have been harsh, but there's a scar on your heart for what he did.

It was the least he deserved.

You get up from your seat and pick up your coat. "I think I'll be taking my leave now. I hope you have a good life Jerome. You deserve one."

He puts his hand to his mouth, eyes wide and blank and shuddering. You put a hand on his cold one; he immediately grasps on, begging for warmth, for you to come back.

You've already had the final say. You don't have time for someone who once told you that they didn't love you. You quietly pull your hand away, and it occurs that he did the same to you. He gave you warmth on the coldest of days and then snatched it away, and now you're doing kind of the same thing.

You button up your coat, glancing once more at him. You aren't aware that he's speaking until he's staring at you too. "Find someone who will treat you better, okay? Find someone who will love you so much more. I'm sorry for all the hurt I've put you through."

You pause for a second. "You know, all of this has made me a better person. Don't beat yourself up over this. You're the one who said you didn't love me, so it's fine. I stopped loving you too. You'll find someone else as well, alright? Have a wonderful life for me."

He doesn't say a word as you grab your drink and walk off, smiling at the barista. She waves back at you.

You push open the door and walk out, breathing in the cold. With a cup in your hand and a lighter heart, you smile at the sky and stroll down the sidewalk, admiring the scenery in front of you.

For once, and you're thankful for this, you don't look back.

 _ **X**_

 **AN: Makes you think how some things are temporary, doesn't it?**

 **It gets better. It definitely will. Have a great day everyone!**


	11. Forever, They Said

**AN: This is a bit more of a drabble than a long chapter, so I apologize for that!**

 **Enjoy! (psst I really really love high school AUs so give me prompts okay? Thanks!)**

 _ **X**_

Jerome Aceti had been 18 years old for decades.

It stopped fazing him after the first 50 years.

 _ **X**_

The soulmate principle was useless. Absolutely useless. It was decreed that you were to stay stuck at 18 until you found your other half, and then you could have a life with them.

And for one person out of billions, well, the chances were slim! But others had managed to do it, and that was the only reason that Jerome hadn't given up yet.

It was a hot summer day. Scorching across the sky was the sun, which had grown bigger since the years passed. Jerome and his current friends were residing near the beach, and a salty breeze stirred the air.

Jerome was built for winter with his fur so he opted to stay under the umbrella. Adam Dahlberg was pulling his soulmate with him, a boy named Ty. Some called it fate that Adam found Ty before the latter was 18, so he never stopped aging.

Adam's bright yellow eyes were shining as he grabbed onto Ty's arm, staring into his crimson eyes. "You need a tan, okay? I swear I'll drag you into this water if you don't move."

Ty glanced at the water. "Nah, I'm good. Yo Jerome, wanna go swimming?"

"I'm okay, thanks Ty." Jerome offered him a smile.

Adam walked up to the Bacca, wincing at the hotness of the sand. "Have you given any thought to…you know."

"No, I haven't." Jerome sighed. "Maybe one day, but not right now."

Adam and Ty exchanged glances. "Okay dude. Now let's go build a sandcastle!"

Jerome laughed, and he closed his eyes, lounging in the sun.

 _ **X**_

He was running out of time.

Multiple years had passed. Adam and Ty were gone.

The universe was starting to warp into black holes and colliding stars. The Bacca had already traveled all over the United States, exploring and adventuring and making plenty of memories with other soulmates.

But he was lonely again.

Jerome was currently residing in New York, sighing as he looked over Times Square. There weren't that many people left in the world; people chose not to reproduce for fear that their child would not make it, and suffer when the world would eventually end.

So the population was starting to dwindle. Only about a thousand left in Manhattan; most chose to go to Hollywood or even Vegas to live out their lives.

The friends Jerome had made over the hundreds of years had said that it was like an electric shock when they met their other half. It was bliss, it was perfection. Everything would be okay again.

Fear had caused Jerome to become paranoid. Oh, gosh. What if he never saw them?

He went past the library and ducked into an empty street, eyes going wide. What if he stayed forever like this? Could he even live like this? What if–

A hand clamped down on Jerome's shoulder, and the Bacca screamed.

"You are really loud so please be quiet because I am trying to sleep." A voice said irritably, but it wasn't the fear that made Jerome scream; it was the electricity bolt striking his heart and racing through his veins.

Emerald eyes stared into chocolate, until the voice said, "Holy shit."

"Holy shit indeed." Jerome whispered.

"I'm Mitch. Mitchell Hughes." The boy stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Where have you been all this time? It's been about 20 years for me!"

Jerome swallowed. "I'm Jerome, and it's been nearly 200 years for me."

Mitch's eyes widened. "Oh."

"But it's okay!" He reassured the other. "I've honestly been waiting for this day for a long time. Where were you? I went all over the country looking."

Mitch was suddenly trying to fight back tears of laughter. "I've been in Canada the whole time, Jerome."

The Bacca sighed. "And there goes 50 years of my life. Wow."

It was silent for several seconds. "So I heard that there's a plane heading to Vegas soon from a friend of mine; wanna go with me?" Mitch grinned, holding out his hand.

Jerome rolled his eyes and immediately grabbed on, feeling the warmth seep into his body and heart. "Of course. As if I'd say no at this point."

"Good," Mitch tugged Jerome forward. "Now let's go! I'm sick of this state. There's trash everywhere and Vegas is lovely this time of year."

The Bacca laughed and walked down the street with the Canadian, smiling widely. "I think I love you already."

Mitch leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I think I love you too."

The world was probably going to end one day, but hey, who cared? Jerome had his soulmate and that was all that mattered.

Forever and ever, they said. And now he could finally believe it.

 _ **X**_

 **AN: I've lost a whole lot of my inspiration so please leave prompts in the reviews! It would mean a lot. Thank you everyone! :)**

 **I hope everyone is having a great day!**


	12. Ending Story! Sorry!

**AN: Hey guys! I think I'm gonna end the story here. I have too much stuff going on, I can't concentrate, and this story seems to have lost its popularity.**

 **So, with that said, I might write something new in other fandoms. Who knows?**

 **I'm currently working on my NaNoWriMo piece and I'm only a little over 2000, and I really need to finish it in time. But I think it'll be good!**

 **Thanks for everyone who reviewed! You guys are great!**

 **Sincerely,**

 **Wolfy.**


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